Thursday, May 22, 2014

Before and After - Stairs




I have very few before and after videos. Here is a new video of Byron walking down stairs - no braces.  Now look at the video below.  That was with full bracing shortly after the surgery - his toe was pointed WAYYYY in.  Great to see good progress!


Byron First Dorsal Rhizotomy Follow Up - Columbia

Today Byron had his 6 months follow up to the SDR surgery.  It was the first time we have seen his surgery and recovery team since November 2013.  The appointment was at Columbia Presbyterian at the Spasticity Clinic.

The comparison of the before with the after testing was very promising.  His spasticity numbers had decreased which was very good.  What was most surprising was their reaction to Byron himself.  One therapist said "He seems like a totally different kid!"

Byron was cooperative, friendly and relaxed.  This was in stark contrast to several of his earlier visits with this team.  Each time he visits there he is asked to walk, run, jump and they play a lot with his legs and arms.  This time he really seemed to enjoy it.

The BEST news is that he no longer has to wear a leg brace.  They could see no difference between the SMOs, the AFO and nothing at all.  Needless to say this is awesome!

Byron is walking better but he still has a long way to go.  His ankle is still really tight so they showed me two excellent stretches I can do before he goes to bed.  Byron seemed to tolerate the stretch so I look forward to trying it.

Another piece of good news is no PERC surgery, which is the heal cord lengthening, is needed.  Phew!

Everyone, including me, is now focusing on his arm.  It seems his arm has little to no spasticity, no change since the surgery.  And no more Botox needed which is great.  We stayed for a while today to have a custom hand splint made.  It should arrive in about three weeks.

It is always so wonderful to work with experts in the field.  I hope we can work with this team more often.  There is a fairly good constraint therapy camp in New Jersey, so who knows, maybe this blog will go back to it original title - A Constraint Therapy Journal!